14 DAY TRIAL // It’s no longer a surprise that iPhones are selling like hotcakes, but according to new data from market research company Counterpoint, Apple’s device is doing so well that it accounts for nearly half of all premium sales in China.
More specifically, 46 percent of the premium devices sold in China are iPhones, with Vivo securing the leading spot with a share of just 13 percent.
Huawei is third in the chargers with 11 percent, followed by Honor, Xiaomi, and Oppo. In case you’re wondering what’s happening with Samsung, the South Korean company is obviously betting big on the upper mid-range sector in China, so it’s just part of the “Others” category accounting for 4 percent of all premium sales.
Premium sector doing well
“Apple did well in the $1,000 and above segment, recording 147% YoY increase, while Samsung also grew 133% YoY. Both these brands benefitted from Huawei’s decline and the shift in purchase trends towards premium phones in China. Driven by the vivo X80 series’ success, vivo grew 504% YoY in the premium segment. The vivo X series perfectly combines design and performance for this segment, helping vivo perform well in online channels,” Research Analyst Mengmeng Zhang explained.
While premium phone sales declined 10 percent in the second quarter of the year, the market overall went down 14 percent. This means the premium category actually increased its share from 31 percent to 33 percent during the quarter.
“After back from COVID-19 in the second half of 2020, China’s smartphone sales reached a temporary peak in Q1 2021 before declining again and reaching the lowest point in a decade in Q2 2022. This trend prevented a big drop in premium segments in Q2 2022. Of course, lockdowns in key Chinese cities impacted the premium segment sales because customers for this segment are mostly based in these cities,” the analyst explains.